Being an immigrant can be hectic in the first few months as one strives to learn the foreign culture, create social networks, and blend with the foreign community. The majority of western countries have devised strategies to ease the immigrant integration process. Some techniques that the states have adopted include using public libraries for immigrants to learn the foreign culture, social and economical way of life, and act as a meeting joint to create connection both with fellow immigrants and the foreign country’s hosts. The article, Public Libraries: A meeting Place for Immigrant Women, has focused on researching and establishing findings on a public library's role in immigrant women's lives. The results are more inclined to the ways immigrant women utilize public libraries to cope in foreign countries. Additionally, several scholarly materials share similar and distinct ideologies and findings with the above-stated article.
The Research Summary
Audunson et al.’s (2014) study based its findings on nine immigrant women from Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The article stressed out that public libraries' role in immigrants' lives was under-researched, thus depicting the research's significance. Based on the research's findings after a qualitative analysis, it was evident that public libraries play a critical role in assisting foreign women in adapting to foreign countries and creating meaningful connections. A significant number of participants described the library as a safe meeting point for ladies, notably, from conservative societies ( Audunson et al., 2011 ). Some showed minimal trust in their countrymen, and the only place that felt safe for meeting fellow women from the same culture was the public library.
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Additionally, the library provided an opportunity for foreign women to get acquaintances from their local country people who were already conversant with foreign cultures. People who had visited the foreign countries earlier offered appropriate guidance to the newcomers ( Audunson et al., 2011 ). Consequently, the newcomers integrated with ease into the new state. Furthermore, the findings reported that immigrant women felt included in a foreign country because the public library offered services and materials in different immigrant languages. As a result, the women developed trust in the foreign countries that contributed to social capital. Finally, the research findings portrayed that the library acted as a consolation joint for the immigrant women as they connected with cultural materials that reminded them of their countries.
The Research Evaluation
The research was quite informative and efficient in describing the topic. Although the number of participants was slightly small, the study provided accurate findings and was cautious not to generalize the findings from a general analysis of the participants' responses. It recorded all the participants' specific responses, allowing readers and critiques to analyze the recorded responses if they disputed the final research conclusion. Additionally, the research was accurate in relating the research finding to the research questions, thus making the research relevant. The readers can easily understand the goals of the study and correlate the results with the research objectives. It has described in depth the roles of the public library in the lives of immigrants. However, some improvements would make the research more accurate and broader. The research may consider incorporating comparison based on the period through which immigrants integrate with the foreign country with the public library's help and without the public library.
Comparison and Contrast of Additional Reading Materials
Several readings relate to the above research topic. Some of the readings reinforce the Audunson et al. (2011) article's ideology and findings, while some disagree with the concepts. For instance, the articles: Norwegian libraries and special services for immigrant women ( Gundersen, 2011 ) And Trust and the Role of the Public Library in the Integration of Refugees: The case of a Northern Norwegian city (Varheim, 2011) relates to the above research readings. The two articles exhibit both similar and distinctive ideologies in comparison to Audunson et al.’s (2011) article.
Varheim’s (2014) article depicts similar ideologies with original readings on generalized trust and social capital. The article explains that public institutions like the library create trust within the immigrants to a foreign country. Public libraries contribute significantly to generalized beliefs, vital for social capital (Varheim, 2014). Although the article agrees with the original readings that public libraries contribute immensely to building trust, it also contradicts Audunson et al.’s (2011) article based on safety in the public library. Varheim’s (2014) article state that the immigrants felt unsafe in the library due to possible conflicts between the immigrant groups. In contrast, Audunson et al. (2011) depict public libraries as safe places for immigrant women. Varheim's (2014) article also shares similar findings with Audunson et al.’s (2011) article because both articles portray public libraries as meeting places. The immigrants meet fellow immigrants and foreign country citizens that enabled them to create meaningful social networks.
Additionally, Gundersen's (2011) article entails more similar ideologies and findings with Audunson et al. (2011). For instance, the report agrees that immigrant women use the libraries to connect with their culture because there are available cultural materials for all immigrants. It has also depicted that public libraries act as joints where immigrant women acquire acquaintances who help them integrate into foreign countries, as similarly stated in Audunson et al. (2011) article findings. Additionally, the article describes the public library as a place where immigrant women attend with their families for leisure as similarly depicted in Audunson et al. (2011) article as one of the respondents stated that she uses the library as a recreation facility because she takes her children and allows them to play in the children's room. At the same time, she enjoys the materials available in the library.
Conclusion
In summary, public libraries contribute immensely to integrating immigrants from foreign countries. I learned quite a few things that will improve my understanding of public libraries' roles to the immigrants. For instance, I understood why immigrants constituted a high number of people who visited public libraries. In most cases, they visited the library to connect with their cultures as they read materials inclined to their culture. They also desired to belong, and therefore they visited the library to interact and create a social connection with other people.
References
Audunson, R., Essmat, S., & Aabø, S. (2011). Public libraries: A meeting place for immigrant women? Library & Information Science Research , 33 (3), 220-227.
Gundersen, A. (2011, August). Norwegian libraries and special services for immigrant women. In World Library and information congress: 77th IFLA general conference and assembly .
Varheim, A. (2014). Trust and the role of the public library in the integration of refugees: The case of a Northern Norwegian city. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science , 46 (1), 62-69.
